Samsung Officially Announces the Quad-Core Exynos Chip Coming to the SGS3

[dgstorm]

It is now official. Samsung issued a press release and splashed a ton of data across their website for the new Quad-Core Exynos chip built on the 32nm process and running at 1.4GHz. Additionally, they shared that the new chip will indeed be powering "the Next Galaxy." Supposedly, even though this new chip is still using the ARM Cortex-A9 architecture, this new chip will be twice as fast and operate at 20% less power than the previous gen part. Here's the full press release below and a video below. Thanks to all our tipsters who sent this one in!

[video=youtube;8TK6WxTkc7U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8TK6WxTkc7U[/video]​

Samsung’s New Quad-Core Application Processor Drives Advanced Feature Sets in Smartphones and Tablets

Designed on 32nm HKMG process, new energy-efficient chip exceeds 1.4GHz per core

SEOUL, Korea–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor solutions, today introduced the industry’s first quad-core application processor built on the High-k Metal Gate (HKMG) low-power process technology. With unprecedented performance capabilities exceeding 1.4GHz based on the ARM® CORTEXTM A9 quad-core, the powerful, yet energy-efficient Exynos 4 Quad, allows system-level architects to integrate maximized power efficiencies into smartphones and tablets which enables double the processing power at a 20 percent lower power bill over its predecessor, the 45nm process-based Exynos 4 Dual.

“The quad-core processor offers phenomenal multitasking abilities surpassing any single or dual application processor. Since all the cores must share a single battery, the power management and efficiency in the limited battery capacity are indispensable for mobile computing devices,” said Taehoon Kim, vice president of System LSI marketing, Device Solutions, Samsung Electronics. “Given the diverse functionalities consumers are demanding from their mobile devices today, the Exynos 4 Quad meets those high-performance needs while keeping power consumption very low.”

Multi-core processing delivers enhanced performance, enabling users to accomplish more tasks in a shorter period of time. For example, a task such as streaming video can run on one core while the other cores update applications in the background, connecting to the web and scanning virus-check simultaneously.

Benefitting from a use case where the parallel processing and workload sharing among the four cores is necessary, the Exynos 4 Quad is particularly well-suited for heavy-load applications such as 3D games, video editing, and calculation-intensive simulation.

Due to its 32nm HKMG low-power process and power-saving design, the Exynos 4 Quad has two times the processing capability over the 45nm process based Exynos 4 Dual while consuming 20-percent less power. To improve power efficiency, Samsung adopted hot-plug functionality to support on-off switching for each core as well as the per-core dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS), which offers a dramatic reduction in power consumption by adapting different levels of voltage and frequency when changing workloads.

Having identical form factor measurements (12mm X 12mm X 1.37 mm), the Exynos 4 Quad is pin-to-pin compatible with the 32nm process based Exynos 4 Dual, allowing mobile device designers to immediately adopt the new solution without additional cost, engineering or design efforts.

In addition, the new processor incorporates a full HD 30 frame per second video hardware codec engine for high resolution 1080p video recording and play-back, an embedded image signal processor interface for high-quality camera functionality and an HDMI 1.4 interface for sharp and crisp multimedia content transmission.

Samsung developed a power management IC (PMIC), the S5M8767, as a companion chip to power the Exynos 4 Quad processor. By integrating various circuitry such as nine highly efficient and programmable buck converters and 28 low-dropout regulators (LDOs) into the small package of 5.0 mm x 5.0mm x 0.4mm, the S5M8767 is designed to scale up or down the dynamic voltage depending on the clock speed in 6.25mV step for managing power delivery and maximizing battery life at the system level.

Already in production, the Exynos 4 Quad is scheduled to be adopted first into Samsung’s next Galaxy smartphone that will officially be announced in May. Samsung’s Exynos 4 Quad is also sampling to other major handset makers.

“The application processor is a crucial element in providing our customers with a PC-like experience on mobile devices. Samsung’s next Galaxy device, which will be officially announced soon, offers uncompromised performance and ground breaking multi-tasking features, thanks to Exynos 4 Quad’s powerful performance and efficient energy management technology,” said Hankil Yoon, Senior Vice President of Product Strategy Team, Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business.

Last year, Samsung introduced a new online hub dedicated to its Exynos processor. Designed to facilitate easy communication with industry partners and end users, the new micro-site takes you a step closer to the ultimate experience Exynos delivers; product information, user experience and information on promotion events. More information can be found at SAMSUNG's Digital World.

Source: Samsung

 

[johnomaz]

Didn't see anything about them putting it in the US version, but thankfully nothing about them not putting it in the US version either. Isn't it May 3rd yet!

 

[Arkbird]

Hopefully this means goods things for us. I just wonder if a worldwide release includes the US. Carriers here seem to think they are special and need to be different....

 

[cereal killer]

Didn't see anything about them putting it in the US version, but thankfully nothing about them not putting it in the US version either. Isn't it May 3rd yet!

We ran a News story on this a couple days ago but here's a quote from the story we ran that it won't be used in the US Version

Samsung plans to release its Galaxy S III smartphone according to different specifications and different markets. For European consumers, it will use 3G and the company’s own quad-core mobile APs, while its own solution that combines LTE, 3G and quad-core mobile APs will be used for the Korean version. But only in the United States, will Samsung use Qualcomm chips,’’ said one Samsung executive asking not to be identified.

 

[Big Ry]

We ran a News story on this a couple days ago but here's a quote from the story we ran that it won't be used in the US Version

Ugh! Why!? That's so stupid.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[cereal killer]

Ugh! Why!? That's so stupid.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

You know how these things go. Wait and see. If it is true I think it MAY have something to do with Sammy being a top -tier customer of Qualcomm so by contract they must purchase X amount. Pure speculation but your question why is a good one and I don't have any other answers lol.

 

[dgstorm]

I am still crossing my fingers that the news about the U.S. version of the SGS3 not getting the Exynos is false. It seems like a potential PR nightmare for Samsung to release a Qualcomm based SGS3 to the US instead of the Exynos.

 

[johnomaz]

We ran a News story on this a couple days ago but here's a quote from the story we ran that it won't be used in the US Version

I saw it, I'm hoping its a false rumor.

 

[npro1464]

If they release the US version without quad core for the stupid reason cereal killer suggested, I will crash a Samsung store with a black t-shirt with a sign saying "Wake Up!"

 

[armeddroid]

You know how these things go. Wait and see. If it is true I think it MAY have something to do with Sammy being a top -tier customer of Qualcomm so by contract they must purchase X amount. Pure speculation but your question why is a good one and I don't have any other answers lol.

Idk. This is news to me. Thought the common understanding why US cannot have quadcore processors is due to the size of the LTE chip.
As of right now, the LTE chip is too big to have quadcore, a good battery and a realistic size phone..
Close to end of this year, the developers of the LTE chip will release the new smaller, faster version.
Until then, US variants will always get the dual vs quadcore when it arrives.
Whats really gonna fuel the fued in terms of Apple vs Android is that Apple get dibs on this new, smaller and improved LTE chip before anyone. Let's see how that changes the game.